Fast dissolving detergent composition and ultra concentrated liquid laundry product

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a composition comprising (a) at least one anionic surfactant and (b) a primary alcohol-started nonionic surfactant having formula (I): [Formula 1] JPEG2025511620000011.jpg14170 (In the formula, R' is selected from the group consisting of linear primary alcohols having a C8-18 alkyl chain, R'' is a methyl group or an ethyl group, x is an integer selected from 2 to 4, y is an integer selected from 1 to 30, and z is an integer selected from 1 to 50.) and wherein components (a) and (b) are in an amount of at least 50% by weight based on the total weight of the detergent composition, and component (b) is in an amount of at least 50% by weight of the sum of components (a) and (b). The detergent composition can maintain good flowability of a non-structured or non-aqueous super concentrated detergent, with less solvent, a high proportion of anionic surfactants, does not form gel during dissolution, and has good detergency.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to fast dissolving detergent compositions and ultra concentrated liquid laundry products. [Background technology]

[0002] Although standard (non-concentrated) liquid laundry detergents still dominate in some markets, concentrated liquid laundry detergents are becoming increasingly popular in both home care and industrial and institutional (I&I) cleaning applications due to substantial reductions in product packaging and transportation energy consumption. In addition, some highly concentrated liquid laundry formulations can be packaged with water-soluble films, and the resulting unit dose products have recently seen rapid growth due to their new user experience. One of the key challenges for concentrating laundry detergents is to achieve good flowability of the product and a fast dissolution rate during dilution. Introducing a solvent into the formulation is the most common solution. However, the solvent does not contribute to fabric cleaning. On the other hand, when concentrating liquid laundry formulations to reduce the tendency to gel during production and dissolution, the proportion of anionic surfactants is usually reduced. This reduces the freedom of formulation design, and may cause increased costs and compromised performance. It is therefore expected that certain special surfactants can reduce the thickening tendency of concentrated surfactant combinations and reduce the amount of solvent used, especially when the proportion of anionic surfactants in the formulation is high.

[0003] There are several types of concentrated liquid laundry detergents (LLDs) in the mainstream market, including structured, unstructured, and non-aqueous liquids, which are typically low-viscosity, transparent, isotropic compositions that contain a large amount of surfactants along with low levels of builders. Unstructured liquids are typically formulated with 30%-60% surfactant and 30%-60% water by weight. Non-aqueous liquids are typically formulated with 30%-80% surfactant and less than 15% water by weight. From the perspective of balancing cost and performance, anionic surfactants such as AES (alcohol ether sulfate) and LAS (linear alkyl benzene sulfonate), and nonionic surfactants such as linear primary alcohol ethoxylate (L-PAE) make up the overwhelming majority of surfactant combinations. These three surfactant combinations form a high viscosity phase at high concentrations (30-70% by weight) and tend to form a gel phase during dilution with water. High viscosity of the formulation makes it inconvenient to manufacture, package, and apply. On the other hand, the high viscosity phase formed during dissolution leads to detergent residue on fabrics and washing machines, clogging of dispenser pipelines, and poor cleaning performance.

[0004] Therefore, organic solvents such as glycols and glycol ethers are added to the formulation to reduce viscosity, maintain handling properties, and shorten dissolution time, but they increase the formulation cost, even though the organic solvent does not provide any cleaning power.Another way to solve the thickening problem is to add an alkoxylated nonionic surfactant, such as Guerbet alcohol-based alkoxylated nonionic surfactant.Its flowability is much better than the above surfactants at high concentrations, but its cleaning power is weaker compared to L-PAE.When the application amount of alkoxylated nonionic surfactant in concentrated composition is high, the application amount of solvent can be reduced, but the cleaning power of the composition is usually also weaker.

[0005] In addition, reducing the proportion of anionic surfactants in concentrated liquid laundry detergents is another common approach to overcome the tendency to thicken, but this reduces formulation flexibility and can lead to increased costs and compromised performance.

[0006] Thus, there remains an urgent need from cleaning customers for nonionic surfactants that are capable of maintaining good flowability of unstructured or non-aqueous super concentrated detergents, while containing lower amounts of organic solvents and a high proportion of anionic surfactants, and do not form gels during dissolution. Summary of the Invention

[0007] After persistent search, the inventors have surprisingly developed detergent compositions and ultra-concentrated liquid laundry products which not only contain lower amounts of solvents and a high proportion of anionic surfactants, but also exhibit good cleaning power, good flowability.

[0008] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a method for producing a pharmaceutical composition comprising: (a) at least one anionic surfactant; (b) at least one primary alcohol-started nonionic surfactant having formula (I): [ka] (wherein R' is selected from the group consisting of straight chain primary alcohols having a C8-18 alkyl chain, R'' is a methyl group or an ethyl group, x is an integer selected from 2 to 4, y is an integer selected from 1 to 30, and z is an integer selected from 1 to 50), The detergent composition is provided, wherein components (a) and (b) are in an amount of at least 50% by weight, based on the total weight of the detergent composition, and component (a) is in an amount of at least 50% by weight of the sum of components (a) and (b).

[0009] In a second aspect of the disclosure, the disclosure provides an ultra concentrated liquid laundry product comprising the detergent composition.

[0010] In the present disclosure, the nonionic surfactants and detergent compositions and liquid laundry products containing the surfactants can show improved detergency and good viscosity control in highly concentrated formulations.In addition, they also show better flowability and do not form gels during dissolution while containing less solvent and a high proportion of anionic surfactants.

[0011] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a regression analysis showing a strong linear correlation between Delta P and viscosity measured by a Brookfield DV-II+Pro viscometer. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a comparison of detergency (soil removal) in unit dose laundry detergent formulations (a / b=60 / 40 weight ratio) of Examples IE-1 to IE-10 and Comparative Examples CE-A to CE-E in the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. As disclosed herein, "and / or" means "and, or alternatively" or "in addition, or alternatively." All ranges include endpoints unless otherwise indicated.

[0014] In the present disclosure, the primary alcohol started nonionic surfactant has the formula (I): [ka] (wherein R' is selected from the group consisting of linear primary alcohols having a C8-18 alkyl chain, R'' is a methyl group or an ethyl group, x is an integer selected from 2 to 4, y is an integer selected from 1 to 30, and z is an integer selected from 1 to 50).

[0015] The term "C8-18 alkyl chain" herein refers to an alkyl chain having 8 to 18 carbon atoms. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the C8-18 alkyl chain can be selected from n-octyl, n-nonyl, n-decyl, n-undecyl, n-dodecyl, n-tridecyl, n-tetradecyl, n-pentadecyl, n-hexadecyl, n-heptadecyl, n-octadecyl, or mixtures thereof.

[0016] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, x is an integer selected from 2, 3, and 4. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, y is an integer selected from 1-30, 1-25, 1-20, 1-16, 1-12, 1-9, 1-4, 4-30, 4-25, 4-20, 4-16, 4-12, 4-9, 9-30, 9-25, 9-20, 9-16, 9-12, 12-30, 12-25, 12-20, 12-16, 16-30, 16-25, 16-20, 20-30, and 20-25, and 25-30. In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, y is an integer selected from 21-30, 21-29, 23-29, and 25-29. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, z is an integer selected from 1 to 50, 1 to 40, 1 to 30, 1 to 20, 1 to 10, 1 to 5, 5 to 50, 5 to 40, 5 to 30, 5 to 20, 5 to 10, 10 to 50, 10 to 40, 10 to 30, 10 to 20, 20 to 50, 20 to 40, 20 to 30, 30 to 50, 30 to 40, and 40 to 50.

[0017] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the sum of x and z is 3 to 54, 3 to 50, 3 to 40, 3 to 30, 3 to 20, 3 to 10, 3 to 5, 5 to 54, 5 to 50, 5 to 40, 5 to 30, 5 to 20, 5 to 10, 10 to 54, 10 to 50, 10 to 40, 10 to 30, 10 to 25, 10 to 20, 10 to 15, 15 to 54, 1 It is an integer selected from 5 to 50, 15 to 40, 15 to 30, 15 to 25, 15 to 20, 20 to 54, 20 to 50, 20 to 40, 20 to 30, 20 to 25, 25 to 54, 25 to 50, 25 to 40, 25 to 30, 30 to 54, 30 to 50, 30 to 40, 40 to 54, 40 to 50, and 50 to 54.

[0018] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the sum of x and z is an integer selected from 8 to 30, 8 to 25, 8 to 20, 8 to 15, 8 to 10, 10 to 30, 10 to 25, 10 to 20, 10 to 15, 15 to 30, 15 to 25, 15 to 20, 20 to 30, 20 to 25, and 25 to 30.

[0019] In alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, the number y is less than the sum of the numbers x and z. Alternatively, y may be equal to the sum of x and z, or y may be greater than the sum of x and z. In alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, y is greater than 8, 12, 16, or 20. In alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, the sum of x and z is greater than 20, 24, 28, or 32.

[0020] In the present disclosure, the linear C8-18 alcohol-started triblock nonionic surfactant can increase the concentration of anionic surfactant in a detergent composition to a level much higher than that of the prior art. In this regard, the inventors can apply the primary alcohol-started nonionic surfactant to a detergent composition containing anionic surfactant so as to increase the total surfactant concentration and reduce the solvent content. In the present disclosure, the detergent composition is characterized by at least two of the following: (i) less than 20 wt. % (preferably less than 15 wt. %, more preferably less than 5 wt. %, most preferably less than 1 wt. %) of organic solvent based on the weight of the detergent composition; (ii) at least 50 wt. % (preferably at least 55 wt. %, more preferably at least 60 wt. %, even more preferably at least 70 wt. %, most preferably at least 80 wt. %) of surfactant based on the weight of the detergent composition; and (iii) a viscosity of 1000 cP or less at 25° C. (as measured by HTR TADM method) and a viscosity during the dissolution process of less than 1000 cP.

[0021] In the present disclosure, the detergent composition may include (a) at least one anionic surfactant, and (b) at least one primary alcohol-started nonionic surfactant. In the present disclosure, the detergent composition may further include (c) at least one organic solvent.

[0022] In an embodiment of the present invention, the anionic surfactant used in the present invention as component (a) includes, but is not limited to, alkyl sulfate, alkyl ether sulfate, alkyl sulfonate, fatty acid salt, dialkyl sulfosuccinate, alkyl benzene sulfonate, alkyl phosphate, fatty acid soap, and α-olefin sulfonate. The anionic surfactant is preferably selected from among alkyl sulfate, alkyl ether sulfate, alkane sulfonate, fatty acid salt, dialkyl sulfosuccinate, and any combination thereof. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the anionic surfactant is substantially free of any intermediate polar spacer inserted between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts of the anionic surfactant. In the present disclosure, the intermediate polar spacer generally comprises a chain of propylene oxide (PO), a chain of butylene oxide (BO), or any combination of ethylene oxide (EO), PO, and BO in block or random order.

[0023] Regarding optional organic solvents, they may be used alone in the detergent composition or in combination with other organic solvents in the detergent composition. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the organic solvent may be at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, propylene glycol, etc.

[0024] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, components (a) and (b) are in an amount of at least 50%, at least 55%, at least 60%, at least 70%, or at least 80% by weight based on the total weight of the detergent composition. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, components (a) and (b) are in an amount of more than 50%, more than 55%, more than 60%, more than 70%, or more than 80% by weight based on the total weight of the detergent composition.

[0025] In embodiments of the present disclosure, component (a) is in an amount of at least 50%, at least 55%, at least 60%, at least 70%, or at least 80% by weight of the sum of components (a) and (b). In alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, component (a) is in an amount of more than 50%, more than 55%, more than 60%, more than 70%, or more than 80% by weight of the sum of components (a) and (b).

[0026] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the detergent compositions comprise less than 20%, less than 15%, less than 10%, less than 5%, or less than 1% by weight of component (c).

[0027] In the present disclosure, the detergent composition can be diluted with water to provide a liquid laundry product. In the present disclosure, the detergent composition may contain some water, and the amount of water can be adjusted according to the actual needs of cleaning. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the amount of water is generally low in highly concentrated detergent formulations. Meanwhile, since the packaging material of the unit dose detergent formulation is water-soluble, the unit dose detergent formulation generally cannot contain too much water. For example, the unit dose detergent formulation may contain 5-10% by weight of water.

[0028] The present disclosure provides for the use of a detergent composition in an ultra concentrated liquid laundry product having good flowability and / or fast dissolution at high concentrations, preferably having a viscosity of less than 1000 cP even at a surfactant concentration of at least 50 wt.% and / or a viscosity of less than 1000 cP during the dissolution process.

[0029] The present disclosure provides detergent compositions that can provide the following properties: - good flowability (lower viscosity below 1000 cP) at high surfactant concentrations, such as at least 50 wt. % (preferably at least 55 wt. %, more preferably at least 60 wt. %, even more preferably at least 70 wt. %, and most preferably at least 80 wt. % surfactant, based on the weight of the detergent composition; and - Fast dissolution, e.g. lower viscosity during dissolution process, less than 1000 cP.

[0030] Furthermore, linear C8-18 primary alcohol-started triblock nonionic surfactants contain much longer PO chains in their structure. In addition to the remarkable viscosity control in highly concentrated unit dose detergent formulations, it can effectively reduce the amount of organic solvent used in the formulation. EXAMPLES

[0031] Some embodiments of the present invention are now described in the following examples, in which all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise specified.

[0032] Examples 1 to 10 of the present invention and Comparative Examples A to E As shown in Table 1, the surfactants in Examples (IE) 1 to 10 of the present invention and Comparative Examples (CE) A to E were tested or evaluated according to the measurements described below. [Table 1]

[0033] Preparation of detergent compositions A unit dose liquid laundry detergent formulation was formulated according to the following steps: 1. Water and propylene glycol were mixed in a beaker with mechanical stirring. 2. Dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA), sodium laureth-2 sulfate (AES), oleic acid, and monoethanolamine (MEA) were added to a beaker. 3. After neutralization, one of the nonionic surfactants IE-1 through IE-10 and CE-A through CE-E was added to the beaker and the mixture was blended uniformly. 4. The pH was adjusted to 7.5 with MEA to form a unit dose liquid laundry detergent composition. [Table 2] [Table 3] [Table 4] [Table 5] [Table 6]

[0034] Testing and Evaluation Soil removal testing of concentrated and unit dose liquid laundry detergent formulations as shown in FIG. Cleaning process: -Equipment: Terg-o-tometer JB003-Sebum cloth -Amount applied: 0.8g / L -Water hardness: CaCO 3 (Weight ratio - MgCl 2 6H 2 O:CaCl 2 =20.37:16.7) = 250 ppm -Temperature: 30℃ -Rotation speed: 120 rpm -Time: 20 minutes

[0035] GB Sebum contains synthetic sebum, gum pigment / cotton, supplied by China Research Institute of Daily Chemical Industry.

[0036] 1.Stain removal test: Equipment: Konica Minolta spectrophotometer CM-3600A.

[0037] 2. Steps: The color of the dried swatches was measured with a spectrophotometer before and after washing. Both sides of each piece were measured and the readings were averaged. The color measurement output included L*, a*, and b*. The cleaning power was calculated based on the following formula: Stain removal rate (%) = (L*after - L*before) / (96-L*before) x 100%

[0038] Dilution Testing of Unit Dose Detergents 5 g of unit dose detergent was added to a 50 mL plastic centrifuge tube. 0.5 g of DI water was added to the tube and it was shaken manually. After the water was mixed into the detergent, the tube was turned upside down and the flowability was measured by the time it took for the liquid to flow from the top to the bottom of the tube. This procedure was repeated nine times. Flowability was designated as "flowable" if the flow time was less than 2 seconds, "viscous" if the flow time was greater than 2 seconds but not greater than 5 seconds, and "gel" if the flow time was greater than 5 seconds.

[0039] Viscosity measurement during dissolution The initial viscosity and viscosity during dissolution were measured by using the TADM (Total Aspiration and Dispense Monitoring) function of a Hamilton MicroLab Star liquid handling robot at 20°C. The Hamilton aspirates and dispenses samples at set speeds and monitors the change in pressure. A calibration curve is created using known viscosity standards. The viscosity is then calculated by comparing the pressure curve of the sample to that of the viscosity standards. The data collected by the TADM method was Delta P. In the present invention, the viscosity was calculated according to the formula: Viscosity = 0.3461 x Delta P - 115.44. In Figure 1, the regression analysis shows that there is a strong linear correlation between Delta P and the viscosity measured by the Brookfield DV-II+Pro viscometer. 2 mL of the unit dose formulation was added to an 8 mL glass tube and the initial viscosity was measured.

[0040] After the viscosity measurement, 1 mL of deionized water was added to the tube and the mixture was mixed until homogenous. The viscosity was then measured again by the TADM method. The process of water addition and viscosity measurement was repeated twice until 3 mL of deionized water was mixed into the unit dose formulation.

[0041] Based on the comparison between the above inventive examples and comparative examples, the following was found: 1. The formulations in Table 2 contained a very high total surfactant content of 80% by weight in the unit dose formulation, in contrast to the solvent amount (propylene glycol) and water content of 10% and 2.88% by weight, respectively. In addition, the formulations contained very high anionic surfactant contents of 60% and 70% based on the total weight of surfactant. 2. In Figure 2, most of the surfactants IE1-10 yielded unit dose formulations with better cleaning power than the comparative surfactant. 3. The formulations in Table 3 contained reduced dosages of propylene glycol. The anionic surfactant content is about 55% based on the total weight of the surfactant. 4. In Table 4, several surfactants, IE1-10, made the low solvent unit dose formulations flowable at 20° and no high viscosity phase was observed upon dilution with water. However, all of the comparative formulations formed gels upon dilution. 5. In Tables 5 and 6, surfactants IE1-10 provided unit dose formulations with viscosities less than 1000 cP and no high viscosity phase (>1000 cP) was observed upon dilution with water. A high viscosity phase was observed when unit dose formulations containing CE-A, CE-B, or CE-C were diluted.

[0042] Based on all of the above performance comparisons, the EO-PO-EO triblock surfactants of the present disclosure have demonstrated excellent anti-gelling performance in concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulations, and their use in formulating concentrated detergent formulations can not only maintain good flowability and rapid dissolution, but also reduce the organic solvent content.

Claims

1. 1. A detergent composition comprising: (a) at least one anionic surfactant; (b) Primary alcohol-started nonionic surfactants having formula (I): 【Chemistry 1】 wherein R' is selected from the group consisting of straight chain primary alcohols having a C8-18 alkyl chain, R'' is a methyl or ethyl group, x is an integer selected from 2 to 4, y is an integer selected from 1 to 30, and z is an integer selected from 1 to 50. and A detergent composition, wherein components (a) and (b) are in an amount of at least 50% by weight, based on the total weight of the detergent composition, and component (a) is in an amount of at least 50% by weight of the sum of components (a) and (b).

2. 2. The detergent composition of claim 1, wherein y is an integer selected from 8 to 25, and the sum of x and z is an integer selected from 8 to 30.

3. 2. The detergent composition of claim 1, wherein y is an integer selected from 8 to 16, and the sum of x and z is an integer selected from 8 to 20.

4. 2. The detergent composition of claim 1, wherein components (a) and (b) are in an amount of at least 70% by weight, based on the total weight of the detergent composition.

5. 2. The detergent composition of claim 1, wherein component (a) is in an amount of at least 60% by weight of the total of components (a) and (b).

6. The detergent composition of claim 1 , further comprising (C) an organic solvent.

7. 7. The detergent composition of claim 6, wherein the detergent composition comprises less than 20% by weight of component (c).

8. 2. The detergent composition of claim 1, wherein the anionic surfactant is selected from alkyl sulfates, alkyl ether sulfates, alkanesulfonates, fatty acid salts, dialkyl sulfosuccinates, and any combination thereof.

9. 2. The detergent composition of claim 1, wherein the anionic surfactant is substantially free of any intermediate polar spacer interposed between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions of the anionic surfactant.

10. 10. The detergent composition of claim 9, wherein the intermediate polar spacer comprises a chain of propylene oxide (PO), a chain of butylene oxide (BO), or any combination of ethylene oxide (EO), PO, and BO in block or random order.

11. 13. An ultra concentrated liquid laundry product comprising the detergent composition of claim 1.

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